GROVELAND — The Groveland Water and Sewer Department and the Board of Water Commissioners would like to share information about a rate hearing meeting on Feb. 9.
Due to the expected town growth and the Water Treatment Plan project, ratepayers will see an increase in fees for the upcoming fiscal years.
The plant will be one of the largest capital projects in the history of the Water Department, other than when the town implemented a sewer system.
The WTP project is estimated at $44.6 million. The Water and Sewer Department is working to secure a low-interest loan to be repaid over 30 years by water system users and is actively pursuing all available state and federal grant funding to further reduce the financial expense to ratepayers. The low interest loan program, The State Revolving Fund, is a competitive Loan Program run by the State that is exclusively for Water Infrastructure Projects. The Water Department must apply each year during design and construction to be awarded funding.
During the meeting residents will be presented with various options the department is looking at in terms of rate increases. These options were determined as a result of a Water Rate Study conducted by the department in partnership with Raftelis, a municipal utility management consulting company, and Apex Companies Engineering, which is overseeing the WTP construction.
Residents are reminded that while their water rates will increase, sewer rates will not be affected. The Senior rate policy will remain in place.
Residents are encouraged to attend. As this is a public hearing, time will be set aside for public comment so that ratepayers can share their questions and concerns directly with commissioners.
About the Water Treatment Plant:
This project is required due to PFAS regulations; however, Groveland will see other
benefits. Along with removing PFAS, the new Treatment Plant will remove the
naturally occurring Iron and Manganese from the water. Iron and Manganese are
minerals that cause discolored water in some areas of Town. Additionally, there will
be water main replacement included with the project, as well as a plan moving ahead for systematic water main replacement.
The plant will use a two-stage treatment process to remove both naturally occurring iron and manganese as well as PFAS compounds. Water will first pass through greensand filters to remove iron and manganese, which would otherwise clog the Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filters that are used to extract PFAS.
While Groveland’s current water supply is well within safety standards — and is ranked among the cleanest in Essex County by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) — the town has occasionally exceeded the action level for PFAS, and the town experiences discoloration, especially during peak usage times, due to iron and manganese that is naturally present in the groundwater. Historically, the town has explored options in the past but this is the first time Groveland will construct a facility to treat or filter its water supply.
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